Port of Ningbo

Port of Ningbo

Cosco Pacific, the port operating arm of China’s largest shipping company, has growth its throughput by 10 percent from January through November this year, a reflection of strong export volumes that kept its terminals busy during the second half.

A crushing defeat of Taiwan's ruling China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party at local elections late last week wasn’t enough to derail closer cross-strait trade links as Ningbo Port Group signed a cooperation agreement with the port-controlling Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC).

Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with grain handlers in the Pacific Northwest, ending a two-year battle between the two parties.

The Ningbo container truck driver strike is escalating with trucks clogging the terminal gates and forwarders warning customers to expect missed sailings and a shortage of boxes as carriers divert some calls to Shanghai.

Asia’s ports reported strengthening of container throughput in the first half as the economic recovery of the U.S. and Europe drove up consumer spending and new export orders flooded into Chinese factories.

China’s top 10 container ports handled almost 13 million TEUs in May, a growth of 2.4 percent over the same month last year, with the most impressive figures continuing to be generated by Ningbo-Zhoushan port.